Donnap, do you remember the CPT word processing machine? It used cassette tapes with a selectric typewriter.  I have also used an Autotypist before.  I think it was a word processor from the 40's (but I used it in the early 70's).  It punched holes on a roll of paper like a player piano, then played back the repetitive letters on a selectric typewriter.  The keyboard and space bar on the machine were about 3 feet wide!